Ethereal Queen
by Camille A L
Summary: Lucy is focused on training, while Laxus is trying to deal with troubles of his own. There's something dark around the corner and it's drawing both mages closer into a mess that fairies can't escape. A repetitive symbol and a riddle that claims that the demons are rising whilst the heavens fight with only one warrior at hand. War is unavoidable, and for Fairy Tail there is no hope.
1. A Lazy Start

A Lazy Head Start

* * *

Under the bright morning sun, a distraught Lucy made her way to Fairy Tail.

Usually at this hour Magnolia was a quiet city, since not many liked to rise with the sun. Yet, the young blonde liked to be up and about early in the morning, specially when she had such an energetic group for a guild. Fairy Tail is known for the ruckus and destruction is carries along, just like snow brings cold, and an union like nail to flesh. Quite frankly, she loved it that way; as to why getting up so early in the morning. Because no matter the time, something must be happening at the guild given it's members.

However, now she was only concentrated on her own thoughts, not really watching her surroundings at all, but from the usual memorized path. It was almost late morning, and the birds chirped and sang happily, since it was one of those light days when the world seems to take a deep breath and you can concentrate on the peace of it. Such tranquility that the wind is just a soft whisper and the sun is comforting. The rhythmic sound of her combat boots against the pavement was soothing because there were no other pedestrians going by, and her own steps were simply familiar. The town too was nice to look at this hours since it looked as if out of a painting with all the pastel colors, scenery and serenity.

But wonder, why such young woman would be thinking so much instead of enjoying such a morning? Well, Lucy's mind was on something else that would be to come in a few months, yet the same event already occupied the mind of most guild members. And that would be the S-Class Mage Promotional Trials.

After the incidents at Tenrou, the guild has gone a long time without any new S-Class mages to go around, specially now that they are trying to regain the lost time. As to why the Master announced the trials six months in advanced. And there were only four months left.

Lucy at first was reluctant, but she was thinking her way around it, thinking that maybe, just maybe, she should give it a try. It was somewhat late to start training and taking on missions right away, but she had to, because now she was convinced that she could make it to S-Class.

So much for being clever - she was leaving everything until the last day.

Master Makarov had announced that this year he would allow ten contestants, and in the larger number, the contestants had to pair up with each other since this year there would be two winners. Meaning that depending on the team there would be higher chance of winning for everyone. And Lucy was sure that given the right partner she could do it.

Everything had changed drastically since the seven years lost and the Grand Magic Games. She too had changed for the better. Her magic was stronger, and somewhere she also had her second nature. She had grown immensely as a mage, and she was sure she could prove it. This would be a great chance to demonstrate her advances and show that she was not the weak Celestial Spirit mage everyone made her to be.

Because the truth is that Lucy knows that even though she is a loved member in the guild, and even though she was in Erza's team, she was not of the same level of any of the rest of the gang. Stronger than Happy, yet Wendy is younger and she too could easily last longer in battle than Lucy. To her it was frustrating really, and she really wanted to show the rest how much she'd grown.

Lucy's mind was running on a frenzy, as she was trying to come up with a training schedule that could meet her demands while also giving her time to go on missions. Capricorn would be of help, and she could train during her trips. Still, the youngest Hearfillia's mind was clouded and she was confused. There were so many things that could go wrong. If she was unprepared, or if she was as weak as the others thought it could influence her much. _What if I don't have enough magic power? _she thought, her hands fumbling with the end of her whip. _I could be an easy target too. Maybe they will try to get rid of me first. Oh, what am I thinking, I don't even know if the Master is considering me for this! What if he too thought I still needed time to prepare? What if I'm just too late to start worrying over this?! _Her brow furrowed deep in thought, as she kept on fighting herself. _But what if -_

She broke out of her reverie when she was suddenly shoved harshly as someone went past her in a hurry into the open doors of the guild. Not enough force to knock her down, but enough to push her aside. As if coming back to Earth, she mumbled a 'sorry' but she doubted the stranger heard her, and she then noticed who it was.

None other than the Lightning Dragon Slayer, Laxus Dreyar. Why he was in such a hurry, she had no idea. And truthfully she didn't care. Lucy was now frowning for his rudeness, her brown eyes boring into the dull colored coat as he disappeared into Fairy Tail. His haste made no sense to her whatsoever, given that he was never in a rush, and he was already an S-Class, meaning that he didn't need to race into missions to get into the exams. It was not of her business, so she dropped it, deciding to dismiss what just happened.

Quickly now she made her way up the front steps and into the same doors Laxus had gone by in the past second, yet when she came in he was no longer in sight, and the guild was half empty. At least some were still asleep and others were doing missions. The majority was crowding the main board trying to find easy fast jobs that allowed them to come back and do another almost in the same day, probably with very little rewards. It was always like this at this time of the year, just that Lucy had never worried over this too. _I have to start thinking positive! I would have been named Lucky if I were a boy! I can't seriously be worrying this much. Have little more faith..._

Settling for a positive attitude now, Lucy smiled, greeted by the same coloring and homely image the guild presented to her. Hardwood polished floors and walls lined with green tapestry that boarded the guild's insignia in orange lightened any day. The strong smell of beer and ale clung around, combined with the welcoming scent of Mira's cooking was just very familiar and something she was so used to by now. The tables were in rows, only a few with mugs or cups lying around empty. And at the end, just next to the staircase to the basement, was the bar, were a cup of coffee awaited to be the official start of another day.

Apparently no one from her group was around now, which gave her a few more minutes to relax and ease before coming up with her game plan. So smiling at the white haired woman before her, Lucy took seat in a stool and twirled.

"Ohayou, Mira-san!"

"Oh, hello, Lucy-chan, what can I serve you this morning?" Mirajane asked, a cute tilt to her head with a smile as she placed the glass she was cleaning down on the counter.

"I would like to have some coffee, please." The Celestial Spirit mage said.

"Coming right up!" and with that Mira left for the other end of the counter. Lucy wanted to have a more private conversation, so pushing herself forward on her elbows she leaned across the bar.

"Mira-san, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure!" the other girl chirped, smiling brightly with her soft tone.

"Do you think Master is considering me for the S-Class...?" her voice drifted, a little ashamed that she after all was caught in the curiosity, and knowing that Mira was a very close confidant to the Master she could probably offer some answers.

"Are, are," Mira smiled at her reassuringly. "No need to be shy, Lucy!" bringing the coffee over, Lucy looked down at the copious mug Mira was offering her. In the dark languid substance she could make out the reflection of the bright lights of the guild, and Mira's expectant blue eyes.

Lucy sighed slightly, capitulating to the power of a tender, understanding gaze. "I want to be on... the S-Class trials and I was wondering if the Master was considering me as one of the candidates..." her words drifted off at the end, but this time Mira caught them and she laughed softly.

"Master is always thinking of us! Of course he is considering you!" Now Mira's smile widened and Lucy smiled back. The older mage never failed in bringing her mood up. "And if you're still worrying I'll bring you into the topic more often!" she winked at the blonde, and as Lucy laughed she took a few more empty cups to continue her cleansing, leaving Lucy to sip her coffee quietly. She was watching the guild with particular interest, seeing that during her little chat more people had joined the crazed pandemonium that was becoming the message board, and she had to laugh when a fight broke over a peculiar easy quest.

"-but I got it first!"

"Yeah, but you took another one after!"

"I looked at it first!"

"I brought it up first!"

"Gimme that!"

"Hey, I was looking for that!"

"No - wait I had it!"

The mages grew louder, and Lucy couldn't agree more that it sounded more like the usual business. Somehow in the mist of it all, a small blue head bobbed towards Lucy, followed by a little white cat with wings. "Lucy-chan!" the young girl called, holding up a mission.

Lucy turned at the sound of her voice and smiled at the young girl as she made her way over, Carla flying forward to sit in the counter next to Lucy. "Hello, Lucy." The white cat said politely as she made herself comfortable.

"Ohayou, Lucy-chan!" chanted Wendy with her friendly nature.

"Picked a mission?" Lucy asked, taking another sip of her coffee before placing the hot mug on the counter and smiling at both the young girl and the cat.

"Hai! Carla and I will leave for one today! Seems easy for me to do..." the cute girl drawled. "I want to work on my magic if I'm going to participate on the S-Class exams again!" Smiling brightly at Lucy she sat on the stool next to hers.

"I understand," Lucy told her, placing her mug down once more. "Every time we go on a mission as a group we destroy everything and have to pay up half of the reward." Wendy shrugged, knowing so. "I will do the same thing myself, if I want to have my rent for this month. Anyway, what's your mission about?"

Wendy frowned slightly and looked at the piece of paper, slightly wrinkled from her hold. "Well it's about taking some merchandise safely from Hargeon to Acalypha. And it'll be all by train, so I guess it would be easy." Looking up, she met Lucy's chocolaty gaze. "Easy enough, right? And the reward is 800,000 jewels!"

Now Lucy looked at the same piece of paper uneasily. "800,000 jewels for escorting?" It was a little suspicious, because if the job were just as easy as described, then it should not have such a reward. Carla nodded.

"I thought it was strange too," the cat added.

Wendy didn't falter. "I think that they don't know what they're paying or are just plain rich."

The young girl was right in the latter, given that it was always a case like this, however Lucy worried over the Sky Dragon Slayer. It was on instinct really, but she didn't want to let Wendy go on her own. The Celestial mage knew she couldn't do anything about it, given that she was clearly not invited into Wendy's solo adventure, and she too was not supposed to plan with this. She needed to make her own missions, and no matter how worried she was for the younger sister that was her companion, she didn't want to interfere with Wendy's plans. So without further dodging, she smiled and said: "I guess so."

Wendy was just such a caring young girl and Lucy had taken a like to her immediately. Now with the upcoming events she was still a little concerned over the other mage, but she was sure Wendy could handle herself even better than Lucy could. At least, all Dragon Slayers could, and she was sure Wendy was terrific. In the Grand Magic Games she had fought Cheria and if the God Slayer had not had the power to heal herself Wendy would have surely won.

"What about you, Lucy-chan? Are you planning on joining the exams?" her enthusiasm was clear in her voice and Lucy laughed.

"I think I will. Everyone is already training, so I guess I will do so too."

"That's great, maybe we can practice together some time?"

"Sure! When are you leaving?" her coffee was getting cold, but Lucy was not really into it right now.

"Today afternoon. This way I can take the train to Hargeon today and be there by early morning. After that it would be another two days traveling from Hargeon to Acalypha. And from Acalypha I will take the train right back to Magnolia."

"Sounds good, and it's short."

"Yeah, it will only take me four days max."

"Hmm." Carla harrumphed, causing Lucy to laugh again.

"Don't worry, Carla, if anything I'll be there to help you out!" she offered, seeing the cat smile slightly at her.

"How come no one else took that mission when the payment is so much?"

Carla scoffed. "Everyone is looking for missions of about a day. They don't care for the reward."

Wendy smirked at Lucy. "Doesn't matter though, it's better for us!"

Lucy just grinned at the always smiling girl before her. Wendy understood what Lucy was going through with her rent, even though she herself could pay Fairy Hills. That just made their bond stronger, since at least on their team only Wendy seemed to bother over her rent at all. The rest acted as if millionaires, destroying what they wanted and not even mentioning their rent due every thirty days.

"I'll -" _BANG!_

Lucy was unable to finish her sentence when the slamming of a door made the top half of the guild shudder. The wood frames looked still, but upon placing her hand on the bar she could feel the waves resonating. Whomever had done that was clearly in a terrible mood and was really uncaring with how it was viewed. Silence fell and the atmosphere thickened, all eyes on the stairway from the second floor. Automatically everyone wanted to see who had slammed the door with such force. Now the fight over the missions had stopped, those who were eating looked up, and those at the bar like Lucy, Wendy, and Carla were fixed to look at the same spot. Lucy was about to say something when heavy foot steps became louder as they reached the top of the stairs, and then the descent was followed by slight creaking of wood. The thuds were slow, indicating that that person was trying to compose themselves. Beside Lucy, Mira walked over and placed a tray on the counter, forgetting all about the drinks she still had to serve while also watching wide eyed. Finally the shadow of a body fell over the bottom steps and Lucy found herself looking at Laxus.

She looked at him questioningly after how he'd brusquely shoved her earlier, and now with the door slamming. Whatever was bothering him had to be bad. He was the reserved and calm type. Lucy couldn't imagine him making a tantrum, but obviously something was really getting the best of his facade. Now when she looked at him Lucy could see just how much he was restraining himself.

Even with his coat on the spirit mage could see him clenching his fists, his nails probably digging into his palms. The Lightning Dragon Slayer was looking down, but when he raised his head, everyone who was busily staring at him looked away, trying to be a little more sublime with the matter, and clearly looking to stay out of Laxus's bad side. Yet much to his chagrin, Lucy didn't look away, as she was still studying him when he met her eyes.

Her gaze went from his clenching fists, to his squared jaw, to his stormy eyes. For some reason he knew she was watching him, and so he turned to meet her brown warm stare. In a second of hesitation his lips parted by her bold gaze, but then he glared at Lucy before turning away quickly. It was such a strange succession that he didn't know what to do actually. It had been a long time since anyone other than the Master looked at him when he was in an angered state.

Lucy, however, was unfazed by his harsh behavior as he walked away, his steps the only audible thing with all the silence. She watched until his figure was erased by the outside light, already out from the guild as quickly as he'd come. As if on cue, havoc broke. Now that he was not there everyone noisily returned to their tasks at hand, talking about the weird occurrence. The Spirit mage was brought back by the words of Wendy, who was now talking to Mira over the same thing everyone else was thinking.

"What happened?"

Mira shrugged, a small frown and letting her eyes wander to the stairs in which Laxus ghost was still standing a few seconds ago. Her dark blue eyes questioning. "Master must have had a fight with Laxus-san. " Placing a glass down, Mirajane continued to pick up her neglected tray and load it with drinks. "Whatever it was must have been something really bad to bother Laxus that much." Her soft tone trailed as she went her way around the bar and smiled at Macao.

Mira was gone again, and now Wendy spoke to Lucy.

"Why would Laxus-kun act that way?" she asked.

Lucy shrugged. "I'm not really sure."

Wendy twirled on her seat, her white knee-length dress flowing around her lightly. The Air Dragon Slayer gave a hop as she jumped from the stool and beamed at Lucy. Carla too stood and bobbed her head. "Gomen, Lucy, but we must head back and start packing if we plan on leaving this afternoon."

"Carla is right, we have to head to the station early!" the younger girl graciously added, while also picking Carla and nestling her in her arms.

"Good luck!" Lucy wished her, as Wendy started making her way across the guild.

"Sayounara, Lucy-chan!" shouted Wendy, her figure smaller in the distance, yet Lucy could tell she was waving.

"Take care!" was the answer of the blonde, who now turned on her stool to watch her.

_Well,_ Lucy thought to herself. _I need to pick a mission if I want to get things going! _Clasping her hands, she stood now, ready to face the crowd at the main board. She needed to find a job easy enough for her on her own to do, and also difficult enough for her skills to be tested.

As she approached the bundled multitude, Lucy noticed that it was scattering, unlike the state it was in a few minutes ago. Perhaps the strange happenings of the morning had everyone like her confused, because now the voices lowered. There was no silence, but people spoke in hushed tones about Laxus's exit. Before she stepped into the crowd, she rearranged her belt and took a deep breath. _Alright, let's do this!_

She pushed her way through the rest of the morning, trying to read all the quests that were flying around from member to member, each discarded after the other for the next wizard. Only when Jet starts a fight with Droy does she look down to see herself standing on a mission. Picking it up, the blonde brushed the dust of boot prints in it and smiled.

Finally she had her first mission.

* * *

**Special thanks to Deathsembrace137 for proof reading! Check out her awesome story A love of Lightning if you want more Laxus X Lucy action! This is my first Fairy Tail fanfic. Please review and tell me what you think of this first chapter! Should I keep going? **

**Extra:**

_Ohayou: __casual form of Ohayou Gozaimasu, which means good morning._

_Arigatou: __ when said alone it is casual of good-bye._

_Hai: means yes._

_Gomen: is a short form of Gomenasai, which means sorry/pardon._

_-chan: and -kun are informal, almost affectionate equivalents to -san._

_-san: is a generic prefix, like saying Mr. or Ms._

_-sama: is an honorific prefix, suitable for someone you respect._

_Are__ are:__is to say 'hey,hey,' or 'alright,alright' - in context used as 'wait a second'._


	2. Of Heroes and Tails

Of Heroes and Tails

* * *

The train station was desolated the next morning as Lucy made her way pulling her pink suitcase after herself. The roll of the wheels matched the thud of her boots as she made her way to board the train. A grand clock hung in the middle of the building, calling to attention that it was nine o'clock already.

She was fixed on looking down as she walked, given that there was no one else to take this train. The patterns of light from the high ceiling windows danced over the floor and provided light for the whole place as it reflected brightly all around. It was silent, except for the purr of the train that waited, mumbling incoherent fumes that polluted the atmosphere. She felt so, so lonely.

Lucy Heartfillia was used to traveling with loud, boisterous companions. Their absence was largely felt by the girl, given that she was accustomed to being in the center of their havoc, but now she was the source of all sounds, and the old security that their commotion provided was gone. It was all her now. Usually she'd have to deal with Happy's musings, Erza's threats while Natsu and Gray fought, Carla's dead-panned pessimism, and Wendy's adamant optimism. Today it was just her.

"Your ticket, miss?" Lucy looked up to see a robust mustache faced stranger. Without realizing it, she'd already reached the boarding port. Without further ado, she handed the small green pass with the mark of Magnolia, and stepped up the steps to the train, finding herself on a deserted hallway.

She didn't think it over and just stepped into the first empty compartment, seating herself next to the window, while placing her suitcase on the set before her. It would be a long trip, Lucy was sure of it.

* * *

On the horizon she could see the setting sun. She would be arriving at her destination soon. This was her third train this evening. And as twilight dawned, Lucy was sure that she would arrive at the hotel just in time to rest and start to take action of her mission the morrow after. Her mission would take about three days, two for traveling, one for the job itself.

On the frontier of Shirotsume, a minor dark guild was taking travelers by surprise. They robbed to innocents, and the town had desperately called for aid at the surrounding guilds. Fairy Tail was not the closest, but it was a reliable guild. And so when Lucy saw this mission, she immediately told Mira, as she notified the town's mayor that a Fairy Tail member would handle it. The pay was 1,000,000 jewels. Lucy couldn't believe it. The price was too much, and it was no difficult mission, given that Lucy and Erza had once intercepted a greater guild and disposed of them easily. This one had about seven members all in all.

_Well_, Lucy told herself, _the better it'll be for my training._

The sound of the train coming to a halt made Lucy seat up and stretch her sleepy limbs to get on the march. Gathering her things, the blonde picked up her blue sweater and pulled it on, given that the northern of Fiore dropped various temperatures and the night air would chill her bones.

"All set! We have arrived at Shirotsume station, ladies and gentleman. The train will depart in fifteen minutes to Era."

She opened the door to her compartment to see a few people also making their way across to exit the train. Trailing behind them, Lucy carried her suitcase now, aware of how uncomfortable it would be to bring down from the stairs. Once she was out, and looking around the beautiful glass station that Shirotsume had, Lucy placed her suitcase on the floor beside her and took a few minutes to marvel.

Tall archways rose, each holding beautiful chandeliers that lit the whole place. Green, blue and yellow reflected on the ways and stone floor, which was also marked with engravings of names. Who those people were, Lucy was not sure, but she could not believe how beautiful this station was. Truthfully, she'd never been to Shirotsume before, and it was breathtaking. The train looked out-of-place, given that it was dirty with dust and marked with oil colors. Dark green and a dead red lined with black. It was just so different to the bright emerald-green and the sunflower yellow. Light lacrimas glowed to match the other shades of colors, thus brightening everything else.

_I have to get going. _The time was 8: 31 p.m., and her room reservations had to be called upon at nine. Well, her timing was perfect. Walking toward the exit now, Lucy could see the street lamps lighting a red paved road ahead of her. The transparent doors swung open, and again, she couldn't help but wonder at such a distinctive town. It was cold. Very cold. And she couldn't help but shiver. According to what she knew, the hotel Acacia was nearby, only a few blocks past the station. So walking at a fast pace to escape the cold, Lucy made her way.

The streets were not empty, for where the blonde was you could hear the distant sound of a child's laughter and the ring to a conversation. Not many people passed her, but every few minutes she saw large groups of people laughing, walking together, or couples holding hands. Smaller lit restaurants took half of the streets, and saluted with the chime of glass against glass. Christmas lights were vines across the streets, even though it was not yet the merry season. And flowers bloomed everywhere. It was the same type of tree, yet Lucy could not identify nothing further than the violet petals that fell and marked a pathway.

She looked up at the sudden flash of lightning, just when she saw the hotel come into view. A storm was heading this way, she figured, since dark clouds were gathering on the east and she could hear the thunder cackle as the lightning fell. Suddenly, although the sky was not completely gray, it began to rain. The blonde quickly ran into the shelter and warmth of the hotel, pushing the doors open to enter. It was exactly 8: 59 p.m. When she approached the front desk it was nine o'clock.

The hotel was as elegant as the station, but not as near expensive, for it was really small, and had very few rooms to spare. Sufficient for her income, she supposed, and so the mage was comfortable. She was already seated next to her room window, looking down at the running families, and the couples who in a tight embrace ran into the night, away from the light storm. The rain had decreased and it was just a patter on her window. Yet, it made the town even more beautiful, for the small tears reflected the shine of the street light and enhanced it's appeal even more.

When Lucy fell asleep, she fell to the now distant rumble of thunder and brightening stars, for she felt as if in a fairy tale of a town.

* * *

The next morning Lucy was on her way to what seemed to be the hideout of the dark guild, according to what the town mayor had told Mira. He'd claim that he had tried enforcing the Shirotsume police on them, but the least they could do was locate their base since right on spot the mages ambushed them. The police, like most of the time, couldn't do anything against the mages. Or better say, a dark guild.

Lucy didn't want to waste more time, so as soon as she woke, she took a shower and pulled her hair in pigtails with two red ribbons. Instead of her usual attire, Lucy wanted to try something that called for less attention, specially with the cold weather. So she opened her suitcase to take out a red short skirt, followed by thigh-length black stockings, a black sweater, and a black trench coat with red buttons. Taking her coat in one hand, she grabbed her red moccasins, put them on, while also grabbing her signature belt. Upon opening the door she pulled her black coat on, followed by her belt that accommodated itself perfectly against the wide of her hips. The Celestial Spirit mage was ready to go.

She left in such haste that her keys jingled and the corridor was all but a blue blur. Running down the old wooden stairs, she came across the owner's wife and smiled at the kind old woman before sauntering to the main doors. Outside it was freezing. Apparently the clouds from yesterday had yet to go, and so covered the sun. It was very early, and given that it was completely dark, Lucy shivered, pulling her coat even closer. The street lamps still led the way, so the mage trailed in the direction of the main road, knowing that sooner or later the clouds would disperse and the sun would come out. She really hated rainy days.

An hour went by, as the blonde made her way around. The sky was not still clear and her lips trembled. Only lamps remained now, for she had walked out of the town range a while ago. Luckily for her, she could see the abandoned shack the mayor told Mira about. It was surrounded by trees, which made it impossible to know how much the old house grew to an extent. It was practically covered from all angles except the front, which made it look as if it was just an old rusty house.

The crunch of leaves under her steps made her cautious. Aware of her surroundings, her hand instantly fell to touch her keys, bare contact sending her security. She exhaled, a cloud of humid air frosting instantly with the cold, yet it was not snowing. Her keys had always somewhat provided her with warmth, and subconsciously, she had already remembered the patterns of all her keys so that at contact she could know which spirit it was. Currently she was tracing the pattern of Taurus.

Walking forward, she stood in the porch, drawing two keys at hand. Taurus and Leo. A very light aura emitted from both keys, making Lucy open the door in determination. She stepped in silent, but her boots echoed and the sound bounced off the walls. The rotten old house was larger than she expected, but not by much. Just a big expansion with stairs and a few chairs scattered around. There was no sign of living in here. It was terribly dark, but the light that filtered through the windows was enough to guide her through. The shadows around provided Lucy with a cover, as if protected by a dark blanket.

Curiosity always got the best of her, and even though the house was mourning in solitude, she couldn't help the idea of looking around. _L__ooks like the mayor was wrong all along. _Lucy walked around in circles before placing a hand on the window and looking up at the stair case. She was not cold anymore, she reasoned, but the blonde didn't question why an abandoned house would be so warm to an extent that her hand on the window had left a wet print. One that comes when the windows are bathed in hot breath that while the glass holds two different temperatures creates a wet barrier. When Lucy placed her hand, she didn't see how small drops of water fell, or how the exterior was only visible through her hand print. She also didn't notice how fast the window clouded again when she removed her hand.

The croak of the steps made the house seem all the more silent as she went upstairs. Now the loudest she could hear was the pounding of her heart and her own breathing. _I'm a Fairy Tail mage! I should not be scared! _She told herself, but her mind always went off on it's own accord, given that Lucy was very creative. As soon as she had arrived at Shirotsume she had thought it looked like a fairy tale town with all it's pretty lights and cobbled streets. But now, in this abandoned house all she could think of was a tale her governess had told her once, about a man who hid in the depths of the woods alone. A man who had no face and wandered through the forest dressed in black. That man had a hideout, all of his own, and it was an old shack, just as the one she was in. And he murdered those who were lost in cold blood. You did not live if the man saw your face. If you looked at him too long, it would be too late. That man liked to hide in the shadows and wait. He was as silent as the house itself, and as soon as you reached his territory you were nothing but a living carcass.

_Pip, pap, pip, pap..._

The sound of a light rain against the windows made her jump. It was just rain, nothing to be scared of. Yet Lucy couldn't help but wonder if she'd walked into a dead end. Her governess told her this story for the child to stay within the walls of the mansion, however Lucy's younger self so daringly always ran off into the woods, trying to run away from her father. It never occurred to her that maybe wandering alone would lead her here. _Oh, I miss Erza so much..._

A chill went up her spine, but it was not because of coldness. It was because of fear. She knew she couldn't be scared, but now her imagination had gotten the best of her, and she was very acutely aware that she was completely, utterly, and moronically alone. In the supposed hideout of a dark guild. Maybe calling one of her spirits could help her get through her scared nature, but she didn't want to waste any magic energy just to calm her nerves.

Strange, isn't it, when one is not easily scared but when alone in the dark our brain comes up with our worst nightmares to evoke a sense of reality in us. A sense of terror born from our true nature of not knowing what lies in the dark.

The stairs led to two huge wooden doors, delicately carved, she could see, for their was a pattern that curved around, and in the center of it, a signature marked by two distinctive snakes, each engulfing the end of the other. Lucy recognized the snakes from something she read a long time ago, but she couldn't place where exactly, or what it meant.

Tension thick with the still atmosphere, the silence became deafening, and she pushed both doors open to reveal another empty room. Funny, how silence is always present, but not needed. Because we think in silence, we ease in silence, we panic in silence. But silence is nothing. It's there, like time, always there, and you can't escape it.

Now in silence she stared at the same dead green wallpaper that covered the whole house, apparently. No, something was different. The room was hotter, though here, Lucy noticed, were some windows shattered, leaving a free entry way for a cold draft. There was no wind, and for some reason she felt as if she was burning with her coat on. For some reason, she also felt her keys warm in anticipation, as they always did when she had to watch herself. For some reason she wanted to run out and head back to the hotel. For some reason, she was thinking that coming here was an error. For some reason, Lucy had started to fear for her own life.

Then, there was the low sound of a chuckle, making her turn. Just by the door she came through stood a man. What was of her knowledge first was that it was a mage, clear by his unnatural red eyes, and snake-like tongue. His skin was pale, extremely pale, and he had markings that went along his eyes. He was bare footed, only having a pair of black loose pants hanging from his hips, the same two snakes marked upon in a circle on his chest. Jet black hair fell to his shoulders, as he grinned maniacally at her.

"Lookie here... we got a little, pretty girl..." his S's were long and dragged. Just like a real snake.

Lucy took a step back, as she heard another voice and another man suddenly stood to the snake-like creature.

"You're right, Yander. How shall we explain to her that she shouldn't be here...?"

This man had a roguish kind of look, with dark eyes and velvety red hair tied in a pony-tail. His eyes were rimmed with black, and he had piercing along both ears, another tugging his lip. He was clad in black robes, but Lucy noticed that the same symbol of snakes went around his arms, and surly meet at his chest.

The dark haired mage smiled maliciously. "Let's teach her."

The next seconds went as slow as fast. She saw how Yander's tongue darted to her, however she did not react immediately and it coiled around her ankle, bringing her to the floor with a thud. Now, Lucy could not waste more time.

Holding out both Taurus and Leo, she gathered her magic to call upon the gates that separated the Spirit World from the Human's. A yellow magic circle enveloped her hand holding out the keys, and she immediately summoned the spirits.

"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus! Open, Gate of the Lion, Leo!" The pull of both stars to earth garnered a golden aura and soon both spirits stood protectively in front of her, Loke stepping on the snake-like mage's tongue, making it retreat. In an instant, Lucy could feel her body being drained, as she had successfully called two spirits at the same time, her magic reduced.

"You called, my dear Lucy?" Loke inquired, his eyes never leaving the dark mages before them.

The red haired mage smirked. "She's a wizard too. Lucky us, we get to have some fun."

"I'm from Fairy Tail, and I'm here to get rid of you!" she stood quickly, trying to force courage into her words. Her irrational fear gone.

"Moo! No one touches Lucy-sama's body!" Taurus called, as he raised his ax, ready to pounce.

Taking out her Fleuve d'étoiles, Lucy prepared herself to fight alongside her spirits, as Loke hastily launched the first attack. He was holding up his right arm, calling to Regulus before sprinting and hitting Yander directly with his Regulus punch on the face. Taurus took the distraction to his advantage and lashed out at the red haired mage, who disappeared to appear a few meters behind the bull, heading for Lucy.

She in the combat was not lost, and the curling stream of stars grabbed the dark wizard's arm, tugging him down. To her dismay it was not enough, and as soon as she tried to hold him down, the mage vanished. He was too quick for her to manage with Taurus, who's potential relied in force.

"Taurus, take down the black haired one! Loke, help me here!" she surveyed the area quickly, trying to see f there would be something of help to bring the redhead down, but unluckily there was nothing. Loke stood by her side, and he quickly held up his ring, heading straight for their opponent.

"Regulus Impact!" the lion roared, heading straight for the enemy. Loke seemed to sense that the mage was light on his feet, and so he too followed closely. Taurus, fighting the lesser Yander broke the wooden floor below them, his ax carving itself deeply as he retrieved it to snap at his also fast moving opponent. Lucy hurried, seeing that Loke could handle the other mage alone, and so she used her whip to grab Yander's tongue, which had tried to get hold of Taurus's ax. Smiling up in triumph, she pulled down with all her strength and brought down the other mage as Taurus made a blow to his head, not decapitating him, but easily knocking him out cold. With a loud thud, one dark wizard had fallen.

Her attention returned to Loke, who given the chase was forced to use Lion Brilliance. The other mage didn't have time to run, since Loke's armored warriors launched themselves from different directions, using such force that the mage was now unconscious in a cratered wall.

Lucy laughed and smiled at her spirits, who looked at the two fallen mages. It was so simple. She had expected more work according to what Mira told her. Something was off. "Thanks-"

She was cut off as the room temperature increased, and Lucy felt sweat dripping down her forehead. The sound of a fire's cackle made her turn around to face a new mage. This one had long blonde hair in a braid, and poorly dressed, mostly in drags. His eyes were unfocused, but she could feel them on her.

"I knew those two couldn't handle a pretty thing like yourself. Come 'ere!" In an instant before she could do anything a blast of heat pushed her forward, and she could feel her body burning up. Lucy coiled on the floor moaning, as the mage smirked.

"Leave Lucy alone!" Loke growled, again throwing himself before her to be pushed off too. This time the blast was stronger, and went across Loke's chest, leaving a gaping hole. Lucy looked up at him as he fell, his eyes silently saying sorry as he went back to the spirit world, Leo now a shower of light.

"Moo!' Taurus shouted. He had no chance if Loke was so easily fend off. And even though the bull knew so, he could offer Lucy with some spares seconds to think as he dodged the heat balls aiming at him.

Lucy whimpered lowly, seeing that she felt as if recently burned, sweating at an abnormal rate. She stood, knowing what Taurus was doing. "Open, Gate of the Scorpion, Scorpio!"

More making energy left her body as her spirit came across the gates, smiling. "We are ready to fight!"

"Scorpio, fast, help Taurus!" Lucy told him, she herself still trying to stand still. After the heat impact her body was left trembling with pain. Now she was trying to get a hold of her own while fighting. Scorpio noticed her state and looked determinedly at the mage who was currently trying to land an attack on Taurus. The bull himself was in not a good position, since he was already getting tired of the running.

"Taurus pal, get outta the way! Our sand will bring him down!" In an instant Taurus moved away, and working in an unceremonious type of way, Scorpio attacked his opponent. "Sand Spear!"

A beam of sand shot through the air, hitting the distracted mage on the shoulder. It was enough to make him wince and get even more mad, as he looked down at himself.

"Quick! Go for a combined attack!" Lucy ordered, feeling her magic slipping away. The last time she had tried this had been at the Grand Magic Games, and it had worked, but Taurus was not as tired, and so it didn't require much of her power.

"What's this-" the dark mage was interrupted as Scorpio's Sand Buster rolled into the scene, Taurus holding its lead. Lucy coughed, the enclosed space filled with dust getting the best of her.

"Sandstorm Axe Adelbaran!" the wizard screamed as a tornado of sand impacted him with the tip of the Axe and sent him flying backwards, against a wall like his previous comrade.

"Alright..." Lucy panted. "I guess that was the last of them. Thanks, Taurus, Scorpio. Please tell Loke I thank him too."

"Moo! Will do! Take care of your body, Lucy-sama!"

"We rocked the house with our sand!"

The blonde smiled at both, knowing that even though eccentric they were truly special. And with that both spirits allowed their bodies to flow back into golden auras, both leaving in unison. This seemed more like the mission she signed up for, given that she was tired and bruised, and had put her thinking skills to a test when fighting.

The celestial spirit mage marveled at her accomplishments. It was incredible how much she could manage to do. She knew this was not the entire guilt, but it was a start. The Master was probably somewhere in hiding, with a few of the other members, since no dark guild stayed in the same place once found. She looked at the three fallen mages, and took out a call lacrima she carried in her pocket during missions. It was a job well done for now, and she was going to inform the town mayor that she had taken out the wizards that resided in the abandoned house near the main road. Looking down at her keys, she smiled again, delighted with her work and analyzing the area one last time. Her eyes fell upon the snake symbol on the door and whom she'd defeated. It was everywhere.

Then Lucy froze as she realized that there was silence again, and not the one she'd met on arrival. A distinct purposeful one.

"That was quite a show."

* * *

**Thanks**** a lot to every one who reviewed and added this story to favorite/following. I didn't think this story would hit it off so easily. I really appreciate comments, so keep them coming, I like to see what you think of my writing. **

**-Camille**


	3. Damsel in Distress

The Damsel in Distress.

* * *

Her blood ran cold as soon as she heard the sharp voice. She knew there was someone there, yet, like a child who tries to avoid the guilt in lies, she was caught cold. Because when children know they've done something wrong they try to push away all evidence. And Lucy was trying to push away the unavoidable. Of course a guild would not be composed of three members. She knew that. But she didn't want to face the fact that there would be more members lying around.

Slowly, she turned, trying to see who had spoken. But there was no one behind her.

"Very nice too," this was another voice, similar to the one she'd first heard, yet deeper.

Her pulse quickened.

"Who's there?!" she turned rapidly. "Answer me!"

Someone chuckled. "No need to be scared. We'll show ourselves." The voices spoke in unison now, as Lucy took a step back, trying to see what lay in the shadows. On cue, two bodies emerged from the ground, and suddenly the room seemed brighter, as if the shadows in it had dissolved.

They were just the same. All in black, but shirtless. One had half a snake, as well as the other on their chests' and when put together they formed the same repeated circle. Their eyes were deep, and rimmed with black, no eyebrows, and bald heads with long pointy ears. They were holding hands.

"We are the Silencio twins." Their voices echoed through the air, haunting and making her shiver. "We are made of darkness. And you - " with precise coordination both heads tilted in the same direction, " - you are light. We don't like light."

Lucy took another step back, aware of how their eyes seemed to read her soul. _They are sound mages...And twins... _She had to think fast before they attacked her first. For some reason they had just watched the whole fight instead of joining their companions.

"You're too loud. We don't like noise. It's rude. Hush!"

Before she could even react, one of the brothers before her raised his hand and a wave of sound pushed her roughly against a wall with a loud crash against the wood. Lucy cried out with the sharp pain and the twins smiled innocently.

"You should learn to be quiet. Scream!"

The other twin raised his hand and she was pushed to the floor by an equal force to the last, leaving her on her knees, her hands covering her ears as a piercing shrill made her scream in agony, her eardrums almost breaking to bleeding. "Stop!"

"We don't want to. Silence!"

With the new attack Lucy was hauled off and thrown against the wall again, landing with a loud thud as she whined and prepared for the worst, yet she didn't hear anything. Blinking in surprise, she stared at the twins before she noticed what was happening.

Her body was trembling with the pain from the recent blows, and her hands shook uncontrollably. Do to the adrenaline rush she didn't feel the worst, but she did notice what the twins were doing. Because she was drowning in silence.

It was so silent that she could hear the pounding of her own heart at first, and her harsh breathing. But the silence grew to such a scale that it was the loudest thing she'd ever heard and it was driving her mad. It penetrated her own being and made everything seem stronger, taking her down roughly and making her scream as it was so intense.

The lack of noise dragged on endlessly before suddenly everything returned to normal and all the sound made her wince again with the harsh introduction. Her vision blurred for a moment before she focused a stare at the twins. Her legs shook terribly, but Lucy managed to stand, her hand automatically searching for the right key.

Their heads cocked as they grinned at the same time. "We should get rid of you."

"No you won't! Open, Gate of the Twins! Gemini!"

It was instantaneous, the feeling of magic leaving her body. As soon as the blue spirits floated up above her she could feel the connection building between spirit and mage. It was their magical bond and she could feel her making reaching out into the heavens to power the twins before her. They felt her too, attached by an invisible but powerful link as she was the source of their power, lending them all the energy they would need. She was not as strong as she started, and after calling out Loke and Scorpio, Lucy was starting to feel drained, given that a celestial mage felt as weak as their spirits, and the spirits as their mage. It didn't matter though, since she had managed before with even less strength.

"Copy them!" she ordered, stretching her whip in her hands. "Let's do this!"

"Lucy-sama! We do as you say!" Now bright light engulfed the room as Gemi and Mini changed into their opponent, beaming at them with similar sneers. "These are Acallar and Silenciar Silencio. They are mages that use sound magic and prefer to work with silence."

"Interesting..." Acallar and Silenciar murmured. "You're loud too."

"We protect Lucy! She loves us, Spirits! Hush!"

The real Silencio twins crashed against each other, as they didn't expect to be attacked with their own magic. At the same time they screamed before erasing any sign of pain on their features and standing. Their eyes shone brightly as they glared at the celestial twins. Suddenly the tension thickened and there was a pregnant pause. Silence. The normal type. And fake twins glared back at the real twins.

"You should never bother fighting us! Mute!"

Lucy fell to the floor screaming, as Gemi and Mini returned to their real appearance and whined loudly. "It's too loud!" Lucy cried, her frame shaking terribly. Gemi and Mini were helpless, sending small particles of light from their bodies as they were injured and Lucy was weakened with every passing second. It seemed as if the match was over and Lucy had lost. The girl was on all fours on the ground, panting as the spell vanished.

"You are no match for us, we are invincible! Reticent!"

A loud wave of sound crushed down on her and Gemini, lifting her harshly with pure brute force into the air and down again. "Lucy-san!" Of course the spirit was more worried about it's owner's protection than anything else, but Lucy offered the celestial twins a small forced smile, trying to assure them that she was fine, no matter how much her body quavered from the last shock of sound. _"We are made of darkness - you are light".. _It all made sense now.

She looked at the Gemini twins worried before holding up her hand, making a final decision. If she did do this she would lose all her remaining magic power, and would be on her own against them if it didn't work. But it was her last hope and required both the spirit and hers' magic power.

She was going to perform Urano Metria.

"You sure, Lucy-san?" the spirit asked. "We don't want to leave your side so soon."

Lucy didn't reply but nodded. Gemi and Mini quickly changed into her, dressed just like she did now with her red coat. The room was lit brightly and the mage and spirit held hands. The Silencio brothers took a step back, seeing the light of a magic circle below them. "What is this?! Master is on his way! He'll destroy you!"

_Survey the Heaven, Open the Heaven..._  
_All the stars, far and wide..._  
_Show me thy appearance..._  
_With such shine._  
_O Tetrabiblos... _  
_I am the ruler of the stars..._  
_Aspect became complete..._  
_Open thy malevolent gate._  
_O 88 Stars of the heaven... _  
_Shine!_  
_**Urano Metria!**_

Light shone brightly from both girls as a circle if dust lifted underneath them, and their eyes shone golden, Lucy's own golden hair spinning wildly when the room vanishes to show the starry night sky, purplish like the milky way alight with all the eighty-eight constellations open to the naked eye. The bright stars varied in colors and glow, and all faced the opponent. The twins made up of darkness. With the last line, several orbs of light that composed the stars converged with tremendous force on their target, seemingly coming from Lucy's chest, from her heart.

The sound mages screamed in pain as the light made them cower and pummeled them with incredible force. Lucy breathed hard, and she felt her link being broken from Gemini as the gate was closed. She was on her own now, just watching the twins cry out. She didn't like the amount of power the spell used on it's victims, but if it was necessary she would use it, no matter how much they screamed.

The light burned the twins, and she could see from the holes that went through each that they were vanishing into shadows, probably trying to escape. The room was alive with a heavenly aura that Lucy expelled, and at last it was all taken by a yellow glow that erased all shadows around, the silence brothers now nowhere in sight as she sat dismantled on the floor.

Her clothing was ragged at some points, not completely cut. Most of the damage Lucy took had been mental, given that the sound affected her head, not her body. She was covered in dust too, and as the light from her body faded she started to feel the worst of her injuries. After being thrown repeatedly against the wall her back was sore, and probably bruised. Her legs had scratches and some cuts, but other than that she was fine. The only problem was that she had no magic and she was shuddering from extortion and exhaustion.

Looking around she noticed that the mages she'd defeated earlier were still out cold, and would be for a few more hours. She was at the far corner from the room, opposite to the door, almost curled in the floor trying to calm her nerves. She had barely made it out of this mission alive. Just barely. She shouldn't have done this on her own. How could this mission be even in the main board as easy? She had almost lost her life! And just lying there in the floor, she shivered.

Lucy's eyes widened in realization and she remembered what the twins had said about their master. He was coming. And He would surely be stronger than them. He would surely kill her. She had no energy, and just like the twins had said, He would probably destroy her. It was too much to bear. She had to get out. Lucy looked at the door with wide eyes, trying to calculate her rates of getting out alive, if there was any chance she could even stand.

But her body wobbled every time she tried to lift her own weight, and even though it was diminishing, she couldn't help but wince as her back hurt when she tried. It was torture and her in her mind she was desperate. _They're going to kill me! I have no strength left! I'm too weak to fight.. ugh..._

Everyone was right She couldn't handle things on her own because she was a weak mage. She was not strong enough to take on something this serious. Her body shook in pain, and she moaned lowly. _I have to get out of here! _Her magic had been at it's highest point today, like she planned to train like, but what was the need to train for the S-Class trial when she was going to die. _I__t's shameful... I'm going to die for being so weak..._

Now she couldn't move and her bones ached. _I need help... _Using nearby chairs for support she tried to stand, but failed and landed with a small thump and a sharp pain running up her back. She cried out lowly. _I have to stand..._

Lucy didn't know for how much she tried. Or how much she had been there shuddering and waiting for the waves of pain to reside. Only when she was able to stand on her own did she manage to sit on a chair and massage her numb limbs. She was drained, and given the slow descent of the light on the horizon she could tell that it was already midday. She'd been there for about five hours.

Suddenly in the mist of her despair she heard something. A door breaking open, and the call of men calling one another. She recognized the word Silencio. It must be the master of the dark guild and the rest of it. Again, the girl shivered in anticipation and waited for the worst. The sounds grew louder, and it was as if there was a fight breaking. "Upstairs!" She could hear the steps on the stairs and her heart hammering in her throat. Their was a loud crash. It was raining outside again.

Weakly, Lucy gathered her courage and any remaining force to walk. Well. She won't give up without a fight.

Taking hold of the chair, she dragged it across to the wooden doors and held it over her head, waiting. She was bringing down whoever opened it. Her arms shook, for she had no force to hold a small old wooden chair above her, but she was doing it. Because Lucy was tenacious and determined to fight until her last moments. She was sure this would be it. She would die. _Minaa... Gomenasai._

The steps were loud and slower now, and the house seemed to regain it's still appeal. Lucy feared the worst and waited. She would strike whoever came through the door. Her arms shook more now, the seconds seemed longer, and everything was quiet. The heavy footsteps were right on the door, and she could see the handle turning. _This is it..._

As the door swung open, Lucy closed her eyes and flung the chair with all her strength, wide-eyed. Before her stood no other than Laxus Dreyar. And she had struck him with a chair that had broken to pieces, crumpled in the floor. The man mentioned in the latter was scowling at her.

"You know, Blondie, you shouldn't try to attack your savoir."

"What?" she was dumbfounded, her voice dry, and more like a croak.

"You're supposed to say thank you," he murmured, arms crossed along his broad chest.

"No," she started to say, frowning. "What?!"

"I just saved your life."

"No you didn't." She mumbled.

"Yes I did."

"No," she shook her head, still confused, "what - what are you doing here?"

"I think that I should be asking that question."

"No, it's my mission. What are you doing here?"

"Your mission?"

Lucy nodded.

"I came to do this mission too."

"But I called it first."

He smirked. "Then, care to explain why are you doing an S-class mission?"

"...S-Class...?"

* * *

**And that's it folks! I know it's very short, and not close to the average length I wanted to achieve, but I had to leave it there. I just had to. It's a compulsive thing of mine, to just want to drop something when it gets interesting. Anyways, please review and tell me what you think! I love to read reviews! It assures me that I'm not a crappy writer (like I usually do think I am), and that actually there a wonderful people in this world that are willing to lie to me to make me feel better! You don't have to review but you do so, so a million thanks to all of you. **

**Thanks to awesome Deathsembrace137 for also lying to me and proof reading every chapter until now. She's cool like that. Make sure to read her stories ( specially _A Love of Lightning )_** **and her new story with collaborations from Leoslay4ever and Nicole4211 [ warning MC-17 ] . **

Disclaimer - I don't own Fairy Tail or it's characters. If I did LaLu would be cannon and the world would be a much better place.

**Dictionary ;;**

_Minaa__ = guys._

_Gomenasai = sorry._

**xx Thanks for reading! Review please! xx**


	4. The Art of Being Noisy

The Art of Being Noisy

* * *

"Yes," he repeated, "S-Class."

"That can't be beca-" Lucy tried to explain, but as expected, she was rudely interrupted by the man wearing a long coat over his shoulders with red pants and a leopard print shirt. Really was to be expected.

"Look, Blondie, I don't have time to waste," he told her harshly, not bothering to meet her eyes. "The police is here and the mayor sent the reward with them. They're downstairs and taking the mages to the Council already." Laxus seemed sure of himself, so Lucy didn't doubt what he said, she was pissed that he still didn't give her a chance to explain or answer.

"But what-" again, Laxus decided to cut her off. She huffed, annoyed.

"I know you have doubts, but you're injured and we can talk about this later with more privacy." He met her eyes with a dead-panned glare, as if telling her you're-in-trouble while crossing his arms in the same motion. "You know it's against the rules to do an S-Class being a _regular _mage."

_Regular..._ she didn't like the sound of that. "Look, Laxus, I-"

"I'll explain this all later." He eyed her warily then, his eyes roaming her body slowly as she glared back at him. Laxus was used to her being less... _modest looking_, to say. And even though she was injured he couldn't help but arch an eyebrow as his ocean blue colored eyes registered her attire.

"What?!" Squirming under his gaze Lucy snapped at him, and now his eyes immediately returned to her brown ones.

"You look like a schoolgirl."

Way to sugarcoat something.

"What," she paused, fixing a glare at him, "do you mean?"

She demanded an answer, but Laxus turned then, shrugging as he started walking down the hall and to the stairs raising his hand, waving her off dismissively. The police was already running to the second floor, some guards of the Magic Council present too. Lucy gasped slightly, feeling her body drained of all energy and sitting down heavily on the closest chair.

For some reason the small surge of adrenaline in throwing a chair at Laxus had masked her tired self, but now she couldn't help the way her body ached all over including the loose his trail, because when Lucy's eyes roamed looking for him after seating down, she noticed the blonde male was already out of sight from the ugly green wallpaper of the house, and the bluish tones that the police and Magic Council officers' uniforms provided. Last thing she'd seen of him was the swing of his coat as he went into the crowd. Now the second floor was filled with people while nurses swarmed around her, giving her pain killers and trying to heal her wounds. _Great, _she sighed to herself.

Lucy was lost in thought, wondering just how did she get in such a tight spot. The mission was not S-Class when she left, so what had changed? Laxus was too rude to answer, and had left her confused. The sound of metal boots against the wooden floor mixed with the scent of alcohol allowed her time to think things more profusely, given that now the fallen mages were being hand-cuffed and she could venture to ponder. Her mind was as loud as her surroundings with all the questions, and she was getting a headache. Had Laxus told the major he was coming, or had he taken the reward for himself as the Fairy Tail mage?

"Miss, are you alright? Are you with the Fairy Tail wizard?" she looked up to see a young male nurse taking out bandages. He had long brown hair that fell to his eyes and a soft smile to match; the type of nurse you usually trust.

She nodded numbly at his question, her body sore and tingling.

Laxus had not explained the S-Class issue, and had walked away on her. He said they needed to talk privately, but hey, he never said where. And he also claimed that the mayor had dropped the reward with the officers present here. Lucy looked at the male paramedic to her side seeing that he was sorting out some band-aids for her. She was considering asking him, but he was not on the police, he would know nothing of her reward if Laxus had taken it. _Stupid Laxus. _Her eyes widened slightly as she recalled that she didn't get to fight the Master of this guild. She had to tell the lightning mage about that too. Suddenly, a new voice made her break from her reverie.

"You're in Fairy Tail too?" the boy asked. She noticed that he was about her age, maybe older, but not much. He had nice warm brown eyes too. And he was holding her right hand. The one with her guild mark. She smiled politely at him, trying not to seem rude, yet her mind was elsewhere.

"Yes," she replied removing her hand to rub her wrist slightly. She was covered in bandages everywhere, and her back was probably marked with shades of blue and purple. Those bruises would take time to heal. "Have you seen my partner?" she asked, batting her eye-lashes. The brunette before her smiled in his best charming smile, easily trapped. Of course she was talking about Laxus now. Maybe now that he knows that she and Laxus are both in the same guild he'd tell her and she could go on a questionnaire extravaganza. That blonde brute had many answers to give, Lucy was sure of it.

The boy before her nodded enthusiastically, happy to help a pretty girl. "I saw him downstairs going around the house. I think he's waiting for you." The nurse looked disappointed. He raised his eyes to look at her expectantly, a teenage blush pooling his pale cheeks. "May I ask you something personal, miss..?"

The blonde girl smiled like the belle she was. "Lucy," she told him, "and sure, you may ask."

"Umm, well, Lucy-sama, I was wondering if you and that other mage were.. together..?" he let the question drop, and she watched him for a minute before laughing softly, the nurse taking this as a good sign and smiling too. The truth was that Lucy didn't think about her answer twice.

"Me and Laxus?" she smiled, incredulous. "Never."

* * *

xxxxxxxx

The blonde Dragon Slayer was patiently waiting by the main door when Lucy made her way downstairs. He was leaning against the door frame, pods on and arms crossed; how'd you usually find him. She knew he was partially distracted, so as she walked towards him she took in the current state of the old shack. The house was now partially emptied, with the exception of the two blonde Fairy Tail mages and the last couple of officers. Apparently it was going down for lock down after all this mess. That was to be expected.

Lucy also noticed just when she made it down the stairs that there was something different in this first room, and it was because it looked as if fighting had gone on in it even though she'd only fought in the second flight. For example, the wooden floor had deep craters and there was glass all over, windows shattered. The little furniture it had was half destroyed, half burned, half nothing. The whole thing shouting chaos and disorder. Yet, just in the corner of mayhem was Laxus, who looked up to meet her eyes. _He has all the answers I need._

"Let's go," he said as soon as she was in earshot, pushing himself of the wall with a swift kick and walking rapidly outside.

Lucy was left hanging. She was just about to start her questioning, but he'd somehow known how to evade that part. Huffing in annoyance, she furrowed her brow and walked behind him with longer strides, trying to catch up.

"Laxus!" she shouted as the cold air hit her, sending shivers up her body. Yet, to her chagrin, he ignored her.

In the warmth of the house Lucy had forgotten how cold it was outside, and now she was trying to match Laxus's steps one by one. She looked so ridiculous next to him in comparison, almost walking as if she had scissors for legs. She could not see his face to know he heard her, and Laxus just walked slightly faster, leaving her behind again.

"Laxus! I need answers! Now!" it was a futile attempt, for the giant kept walking on ahead and she trailed behind him,pulling her coat closer to herself. "Hey, wait up!"

Now Lucy ran a little, trying to get a hold of his brown coat. Finally she shot her hand up and caught a bundle of soft fur, tugging at him by coming to a stop. Laxus turned, clearly irritated by the fact that she'd touched his coat, Lucy feeling the rough and soft texture, and for a second just picturing how comfortable it must be.

"What?" he grunted, pulling away the fabric that once warmed her cold fingers.

"What's going on? Where are we going? And can you explain the S-Class part of my mission?" her words tumbled over one another but he understood all right. Her arm fell back to her side and she stared up at him with a matching look, slightly frowning.

"We are going back to your hotel." He was about to turned, when he stopped midway, meeting her darkened brown orbs.

"That's all you're going to tell me?" she murmured, not liking how easily he dismissed her.

He shrugged. "I told you we would talk in private, Blondie."

Lucy capitulated with one last sigh and Laxus turned at the signal of her resign. However, her eyes lifted from looking at the ground and she found herself speaking again, but this time to his back. She was sure he was listening, though.

"Why my hotel?" she asked, hurrying in her step.

Laxus slowed his pace, turning his face to look at her, eyebrows up, gray eyes as the clouded sky above them. "Do you take me for the type to book a hotel?"

"No." Lucy answered for herself, looking away in an instant. "And what about my reward?" she inquired further, making Laxus stop.

"Here," he pulled out of his jacket a small sack, extending his arms to drop it. Lucy, who had been walking behind him die to her shorter legs had to ran forward to catch it. And just as she did, Laxus started moving ahead again, not leaving her a second or two to match him.

She scowled, trying to burn holes through him with her eyes as she waked faster. _The idiot, _Lucy thought as she put her reward in her inner pocket. Then, feeling the sting of cold air, she pulled the red coat tighter around her body, trying to protect herself. She really had a lot of things to ask him, but for now she settled for walking a few meters behind him while he listened to his sound pod.

Looking at her surroundings, Lucy figured that they were already nearing the street of her hotel given the signature restaurant she'd come to recognize when she went by. It was simple, small, and fit to the street's appearance of red and violet. The reddish paved stone was faded with the sun's kiss every day and Lucy couldn't help but stare at it as she walked, taking her time to think about the man before her, who for some unknown reason knew where she'd been staying.

As far as Lucy has known Laxus she's never talked to him personally or even saluted him. They'd never had a conversation and neither had really bothered to. What Lucy knows of him is that he had been driven by power during Fantasia and that he'd earned back his position into the Raijinshou during the last S-Class trials. In the Grand Magic Games he fought and won for Fairy Tail. It was clear where his loyalties lay, even during Fantasia when his chant for Fairy Law failed because deep within he cared for his guild, no matter what he said.

And now as she looked at him, she couldn't help but wonder what had he been doing here, and for the matter looking for her too. The blonde girl had always been curious as to his character. When she first learned about him and met him it was under fallacious circumstances, given that he didn't do anything during the Phantom attack, including how he'd made the whole guild play a horrible game by tricking comrades to fight each other. Then when he helped defeat Grimoire Heart he showed a more caring side of him, encouraging Natsu to fight. Lastly, with the Grand Magic Games where he even smiled when Sting was reunited with his exceed, Lecter. So at the moment, from his last talk with her, Lucy drawn into the picture that Laxus was also arrogant and cocky. Nonetheless, she didn't know what to make out of him and sort out what Laxus's character may be. When she tried putting together the bizarre pieces she had, none seemed to meet the puzzle, and she simply did not have any idea of what Laxus may be like. Being in the same guild she should know more about him, but reality was that she knew nothing of Laxus, and so far had learned nothing either. He was a complete stranger, and until she didn't collect more pieces of his persona she would not be able to identify Laxus as anything more than an acquaintance. Just a guild member to her.

As soon as she noticed that the thumping of his footsteps stopped, she looked up, finding herself inches from colliding into him. Hastily, Lucy broke from her reverie and took a step back when Laxus turned around. "We're here," he mumbled, and Lucy acknowledged that yes, they had arrived back at the hotel, and he was waiting for her to take the lead now. _So he doesn't know where my room is? _she noted, sarcastically.

Sighing, she started walking ahead, bursting into the small lobby and walking towards the stairs. It was nothing big really, just an old house. Wood-panels lined the walls and you could see a few portraits here and there, the floor covered in deep blue carpeting with tessellate patterns along the sides. Quite simple. A few potted plants around the corners, bright lightening, and the strong sharp scent of pine trees.

Lucy hastily made her way upstairs to the second floor, looking for her bedroom, which was the third room to the left. The chime of her keys against her waist accompanied her every step, as well as a new need to remove her coat. It was fairly hot, which made her giddy with comfort. She really hated the cold drafts outside, and now in her tired state all Lucy wanted was a nice bath before a good long sleep. Yet the loud thudding behind her reminded the girl that that was not possible until she solved first the matter beforehand. For some reason she found that this was going to be even more tiring than her own mission.

At _B5 _Lucy stopped and took out the room card she carried on one of her coat pockets, ready to open the door. Laxus stood behind her, clearly waiting impatiently as he stomped his right foot. The girl looked at him angrily, feeling her chapped lips for the first time after coming inside. "Can you stop that?" she almost spat.

Laxus grunted but did as she said, crossing his arms in the process. Lucy eyed him and continued with the process of swiping the card when a voice greeted her.

"Lucy-san," the voice was neither hers no Laxus', so she turned, surprised to the owner's wife, the old lady, Ume.

"Oh, hello, Ume-san." Lucy replied, internally cringing. All she wanted was to get this over with, and Ume-sama liked nothing more than having a good, long talk.

"Back so soon, I see!" the old lady said, pushing her glasses up her nose to her slit like eyes, trying to see the girl better. Soon enough, she looked at the big shadow behind the blonde to the man behind her.

"I see you brought back a friend!" she chirped, ignorant to the fact that both Lucy and Laxus wanted to get rid of her.

"Yes," Lucy stepped away beside Laxus, presenting him. "This is Laxus Dreyar. Laxus, Mrs. Takahashi."

Laxus glared at Lucy before nodding at the old woman as she smiled. "Oh, please, just call me Ume-san."

Of course, Laxus didn't reply and there was a long, quiet pause.

"Are you in the same guild?" she asked, looking at Lucy now, watching the girl with raise eye-brows. She took in Lucy's disheveled look as well as her flushed skin from being in the cold. Yet, she took it the wrong way.

"Yes, actually we were about-" Lucy started, but the old woman cut her off.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry for not noticing earlier!" she fanned her face. "I'm so embarrassed."

"What?" Lucy frowned at her, whilst her chant continued.

"You youngsters these days! I forget these are different times! I must go now. Sorry for keeping you both!" she started walking away now, back to the stairs where they came from. "Please enjoy yourselves! Don't mind me, sorry for interrupting!" she called.

Laxus's shoulders shook as he walked inside the room, clearly laughing to himself now that the old lady was leaving, and Lucy looked at Ume confused.

"Oh, and Lucy-san?" she shouted from the stairs. Lucy looked at he, brown orbs questioning.

"Yes?" she dared ask.

"Don't be too loud." Now Lucy could feel the pools of crimson at her cheeks. "We have others guests going around, so try to keep it low, will you dear?"

Luckily her gold bangs covered her face, so Ume didn't see her embarrassed look and didn't notice how she frantically shook her head. "I-I-It's not l-li-like that!"

Her words echoed through the hall, no one to hear them as the old woman was already downstairs. Lucy took a deep breath and close her bedroom door, seeing Laxus sprawled on a chair, clearly enjoying himself.

"Oi, remember Blondie, no screaming this time." Lucy fumed.

"Shut up!" she walked across the room taking her belt off to remove her coat, and placing the keys on the bed while taking a seat herself. Laxus grinned like the devil himself whilst crossing his legs and watching her movements. "Don't you ever," Lucy said, trying to cool down herself,"_ever_ bring that up again."

"As you wish," he told her, grinning madly. "Though, it's not like I can help it."

"Forget about it!" Lucy said, grabbing a pillow for herself. "Now, care to explain everything?" she asked, her voice no longer hinting her flustered self, trying to seem serious.

"Alright, let's get to business." He moved forward in his seat, gray eyes slightly turning back to the usual blue hue. "You did an S-Class mission without permission or company of an S-Class. It;s against the rules and Master requires your presence when we head back. He sent me to make sure you don't run away since neither Gray or Erza are there to come here."

"And what about Natsu?" she asked, but the answer was obvious.

"He wanted to, but it's clear that he'd only come to join you, not fetch you."

"But here's the thing, I picked this mission because it wasn't S-Class. I found it on the main board."

"Did you?" he raised a brow, and Lucy nodded. "But I happen to have a copy," he pulled a folded paper out of his coat pocket, "that was on the second floor on the S-Class mission board posted."

"Well," Lucy said, frowning. "At least that shows I didn't steal it."

Laxus threw the small piece of paper on the coffee table in front of him. "Yes, but you're still on an S-Class and unaccompanied."

"Yeah, but I didn't know it _was _an S-Class until now."

"Still, you're here and you would've lost your life for going on a mission being not qualified."

"Still, I'm alive, and I defeated most of them." She fought back.

"Still," he smirked,"_I_ was the one who fought the guild master."

"Still, I could have fought him too, were it not for you."

"Really? Because throwing a chair at him would have killed him on instant."

Lucy crossed her arms, scowling at him. "I could have taken him."

"Yes, I know. Chairs are deadly." He grinned, wolfish, eyes lit mischievously.

"After all, I did defeat the majority." She stated. "I could have defeated him easily too. A hit with the chair would have given me a chance to attack him." She defended herself, trying to match Laxus.

"Oh, yes," he mocked. "I swear I saw my whole life pass before me the instant you threw that chair."

She glared angrily at him.

"Are we still talking about the chair?" he asked, meeting her eyes as he leisurely watched her.

"You should now I'm a worthy opponent!" she spat, now angered at him. "I could have defeated the guild Master too.

"Oh, you're worthy all right, but by the time I reached you, Blondie, you were shaking like a leaf."

"That doesn't matter." She fought back, tying to get her point through. Lucy didn't like the fact that even though he was right, he didn't seem to think of her as good enough material for an S-Class. It was frustrating to her the fact that she fought almost a whole dark guild, defeated, but still treated as an inferior, or as Laxus called it, 'not qualified'.

"'Course it does. Admit it, I saved you."

"No you didn't." She cried, standing up, blushing in anger. Laxus seeing her all worked up, sighed, and dropped his attitude.

"Fine, that's the end of the topic. We're leaving early tomorrow morning, eight o'clock." He said, standing up.

"What? Why do I have to leave with you?" she asked, also standing.

"I have to escort you back, remember? Master wants me to, so suck it." His voice was supposed to come out harsh, but he knew better and it came off as nothing while he walked himself to the door.

Lucy looked down to see her knuckles white, digging into the pillow she had been holding. She heard the door open, yet she didn't hear Laxus leave. He instead was watching her standing there, next to the bed, hands to the point of shaking again, bangs covering her eyes, which were definitely burning holes in the ground. Something stirred within him, and he spoke up.

"Goodnight. And Blondie," he added, watching her silently for a second. "Don't beat yourself over it."

As soon as the door closed, Lucy swung the pillow so hard Laxus heard the thud of it on the other side. No matter how much he'd enjoyed seeing her flustered and worked up, Lucy seemed to take things serious, and seeing her in such a state made him slightly ashamed of the teasing. Maybe he should have noticed earlier, but she really didn't take things lightly. And at the end when he finally noticed how much she'd lost her composure at the last minute, couldn't help but give her a slight comment to ease her mind, and the little guilty feeling at the pit of his stomach.

He'd done so to palliate his own selfish reasons to not feel guilty, but really he didn't like to see her like that, so different to the bubbly person he's made her as. It was even scary, seeing her with such a dark aura, and he felt terrible for seemingly egging her rage on. He couldn't shake off the feeling that bothered him so much afterwards. Yet, he couldn't help but deny that he felt anything at all.

Lucy, on the other side of the wall, watched as the pillow dropped, grateful that her pillow fights with Gray, Erza and Natsu had paid off. However she couldn't help but shiver when she stood there in her room, trying to make out her thoughts. She didn't want to cry, no. Not for such reasons. Not for Laxus making fun of her. Not for the rest of the guild probably thinking the same way he did. Not because she herself considered herself weak.

Not, not because of any of those reasons.

A strangled sound escaped her lips, and she covered her mouth, as if it were a sin. With it too, she felt a stray tear fall. But it was not for any of those reasons. Maybe, just maybe, Laxus's advice had more to it than what he himself thought for her. Because maybe, just maybe, no matter how weak she'd come to think she was, she couldn't beat herself over it. And maybe he was right, because, where was the sense of beating herself up for that? The idea itself made her think of her actions and what she'd managed to accomplish on her own today.

_Don't beat yourself over it. _Laxus had a point. She couldn't over-think things. She couldn't pull herself deeper. Because when you're drowning there's a point where your senses kick in and you want to propel yourself upward, towards the air. And now Lucy was trying to breath, pulling herself up, trying to swim. Because where's the sense of beating yourself up for something you can change on your own?

Once you start kicking with your legs, you're already doing the change. And having the strength to make that change on your own means that maybe you have some more confidence in yourself than you give yourself credit for, proving that you're not weak. That you're strong. Stronger than you yourself expected, than what others thought you'd be.

Yes, she was crying because of that. Because for a long while now, she was breathing for the first time, trying to keep herself afloat. She was no longer drowning, and it was a change. Because now that she stopped beating herself over it, she could say to herself, think to herself: 'maybe I'm not that weak after all'.

_Yes, _Lucy thought, _I won't beat myself over it_.

* * *

**Here it is, the fourth chapter of the installment, sorry it took me longer to update. Anyways, thanks to all of you who constantly review and to all of those who favorite/follow. Specially the followers, since the story went from 70 to 90 followers in one day. I hope you like this chapter, mostly the final part, which took me a while to work with. Up to now this is the longest chapter.**

**Love you all,**

**Camille.**

**PS; I usually write in the morning but now I'm working at a summer camp, which takes most of my time from writing. Excuse me if I take longer than expected to update. Oh, and if the story pop-up as if updated but there's no new chapters is because I'm going over small errors that I didn't notice before.**


	5. According to the Plan

According to the Plan

* * *

The station was empty as she made her way that morning. There was nothing but the cry of birds, and the last remaining sounds of the night. The sun was still newborn and low, so the crystallized station glowed with a golden hue; soft, yet bright.

Laxus Dreyar was sitting on a bench, facing the train that was about to depart, better say, _their_ train. Because he was about to head back home with Lucy Heartfilia. And she was late. Particularly, Laxus was never one to strain over the fact of punctuality when traveling with a companion, but he'd assumed that the Heartfilia heir had better manners, brought up like royalty and all.

Now from the other side of the station came she, and he could hear her. Laxus was easy to spot given his large built, and Lucy immediately found him, legs and arms crossed. A signature pose of the composed lightning mage. All the while as she panted her way over, Laxus was frowning, and she could tell he looked annoyed. But it was only when the pounding of her boots subsided that he looked up, meeting her square in the eye.

"You're late."

Simple words muttered with such distaste that made her sink in guilt. It was uncharacteristic on her part to seem so abandoned, but it had not been her fault, and she was not going to take any reprimanding on the brute's part. After all, she did have her costly upbringing, and so she knew better than delaying others apart from herself and getting late to important appointments, such as this one. Had she been a few minutes later the train would have left. And Laxus too, probably with it.

"I know," she sighed, placing her hands on her knees and bending over, trying to regain her breathing from the long run. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders, clearly ruffled in her haste. Laxus didn't say anything else, but raise a mere brow and stand up, heading for the heavy machinery. The blonde girl, still trying to catch her breath, glanced at him annoyed, and picked up her small suitcase to trail after him.

Laxus was silent, his broad shoulders covering her line of view, yet she walked after him knowing what laid ahead. Soon enough they were boarding the train and she was sitting on a compartment facing the blonde male, all stiff and quiet. At the moment he seemed to be listening to his sound pod, but since she couldn't tell she settled for not talking at all. _Works better for me,_ she mustered for herself.

Last night she had stayed up thinking over Laxus's advice. And she now glanced at him, thinking of how that helped her. Maybe he didn't think that what he said had any meaning behind, or would mean anything to her, but Lucy felt grateful. Of course, given her late arrival she could not express her gratitude. So she stayed quiet. He was being his usual nonchalant self this morning, and for some reason she didn't feel the need to explain herself for her tardiness. Of course, she would do so anyways, given her manners. But for now Lucy settled for thinking things over, looking out the window to her right.

Outside it was alive with morning glow, small red roofs and a painted city on view. Those were the outskirts, just where the train departed back to Magnolia. It seemed like a very peaceful area, with very little people going around at the early morning. Those going around were students or were up early for work. Whomever was up was fallowing the usual cycle of a mundane life. She however, would head back to the guild to face the master, whatever he had planned for her. Life as a mage was not simple, nor did it have an organised schedule. She had learned that before, on her team missions, that things didn't always go as planned, and so something always didn't fit the picture. Make it time, make it accomplishments, there was always the variable of x present, meaning the incalculable possibility of something going wrong. And that x could be a big percentage or a small one, but no one could tell. You can never tell. You just have to wait and see what happens. After all, life is just as unpredictable.

Sighing, the blonde girl tried to picture what would be the consequences of unintentional actions. Had she known she would not have done so, it was a subconsciously involuntary action, given that she did want to go on a mission. The only thing was that she didn't want to go on an S-Class mission. And now she had to get her thoughts together to find out what was happening. Because not by pure coincidence does she find an S-Class job on the main board, specifically one that's been copied. Lucy didn't mean to do it, and the Master Makarov should be considerate enough to understand it was all a misunderstanding. At least Laxus gave off the impression that he did, given that he had dropped the topic after she had shown him her copy of the pamphlet. And the celestial mage too was a terrible liar, so had she been lying he would have been able to tell right away. It was a dead giveaway that she was terribly confused. _Ugh, what a day I'm having... _Yes, what a day.

She had woken up to stiff muscles, legs sore. Her back ached, dotted in a pattern of blue and purple bruises that could mark the map of Fiore. And she too felt lifeless. As if she had been drained of energy. The seventeen-year-old was so tired that she hardly had any strength to stand up, much less face the upcoming events. Taking a shower had been a nightmare as well as getting dressed for her body was very tender and the simplest of touches sent her nerves into a frenzy. Extremely sensible. And so she had dressed herself in the easiest combination that covered her back, allowing her bruises somethings soft to graze by.

She had a simple white flannel blouse that as always showed much bosom. Then a gray short skirt and a new blue trench coat, this one matted with soft wool on the inside for her comfort. Lastly she was wearing her black boots, and on top her belt, keys tingling at the shift of her hips. Just comfortable enough so that the journey didn't wear her out. Dressing had taken so much time that she was late. Luckily she was just on time to board the train, and now all left was to wait. Of course, she would be arriving at Magnolia during the night time, sleep being the best medication before heading out to face the guild in the morning. It was, after all, what worried her the most.

That and the fact that she had to endure hours of travelling with Laxus, whom was not much of a talker. Glancing up as if on cure, the lightning mage looked uneasily out the window as the engine purred to life. Lucy had to hide a smile. _Of course, _she told herself while watching him from the corner of her eye, _he's a Dragon Slayer after all. _And just like Natsu he sweat dropped at soon as the scenery out the window started changing.

The only difference was that the blonde man was holding his stomach, and unlike Natsu, he was not about to blanch. He was holding it in, but he was better at it, and soon enough Laxus was taking deep breaths, not bending over out the window. She watched him carefully before making a comment, knowing that she should be more wary when speaking to this specimen of a man.

"Your motion sickness is not as bad as Natsu's." She stated, allowing her eyes to leave the outside view and meet his.

Laxus slightly glared at her. It always is a touchy subject with them, isn't it?

"Do you always take the train?" trying to spark up conversation. Laxus didn't even flinch, and simply looked at his hands, trying to fix his stare into something that wasn't moving or talking to him.

Annoyed, she kept on with the one-sided conversation. "You're really friendly, did you know that?"

The male was still silent, and he was still glaring at the ground. Now Lucy would have to revert to extreme resources to get him to talk, or at least change his expression. Motion sickness or not there was no excuse for avoiding a person in such a manner, much less when one is trying to be amiable. If questions about his own self didn't interest him, and sarcasm didn't make him snap, she would have to resort into making him laugh. No matter how bad the joke was.

"Did you hear about the guy who got his left leg and left arm cut off?" Lucy crossed her arms over her chest, seeing he was as stiff as a board. Then she smiled. "Doesn't matter. He's all _right_ now!"

Finally he graced her with something new. And miraculously, Lucy watched as the corner of his mouth twitched, just a little. She herself couldn't help but laugh softly, and without much effort Laxus joined her with a simple smile. "That was terrible," he told her.

Lucy smiled, looking out the window. "I know."

* * *

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There was a huge iceberg between them, and even though their shared laugh had somehow cracked the bottom both mages felt uneasy and kept quiet. Neither spoke, silently busying themselves with looking out the window or glancing around the small compartment in disinterest, constantly watching out for the time. The sun's light filtered brightly through the window at this point, a telltale sign of midday, while the trip was still hours away from ending. It took almost a day to reach Magnolia, and when sleep seemed like the best option to spend time away, both felt restless in the company of the other. The gap was completely filled with discomfort, but none of the blondes felt like taking the next step, or better say, leap. It was that much tension between them.

Laxus on his part felt that even though the girl had tried to lessen the incommodious ceremony, there was not much to do. He was sure that she still held a grudge from the Fantasia incident, and it was really hard for her to know how to proceed with a person who once posed a huge threat. He could tell that the Heartfilia was trying to seem as blunt and bubbly as possible but somehow his presence was enough to make her uneasy. Laxus was sure she didn't give a shit about him, and truthfully he didn't care if she did or didn't. The only thing he did care about was the fact that she still tried to befriend him and palliate the burden that was having to travel with him, in other words, she was trying to make things as easy as possible. Of course, his lack of enthusiasm killed everything, thus both of them looking around minding their own business. And to make matters worse, they had stayed silent for so long that Laxus felt afraid of making the wrong move, be it either speaking or staying quiet. He didn't know what to do in this situation, and that was saying a lot for someone as terribly confident as him. He had a head-ache from all this thinking, including that he had to take care of two matters at once. Dealing with the female, and holding back his breakfast.

Lucy on the other hand felt terribly unsure of how to approach him. For some unknown reason she managed to get him to smile, even though it had been a small one. But it did count. Now she didn't know how to proceed. She was sure Laxus was annoyed at her presence, and it made her insecure. She tried to keep her mood on but thinking of how much her presence vexed him was enough to make her regret any idea of speaking to him. Lucy glanced at him once in a while, making sure he had not jumped out the window like Natsu occasionally did. He had his arms folded around his stomach, probably dealing with the motion sickness, eyes closed. In these moments she examined him quietly before looking away. He sure did better with trains than Natsu, but he had an ugly frown marring his features, meaning that he was thinking about something that bothered him, or so, Lucy convinced herself that it was her. _Five hours to go..._

She sighed audibly, and he opened his eyes to meet hers.

Deep chocolate brown orbs met sea blue stormy eyes. Such raw contact took them both by surprise, but neither averted their eyes, dwelling in the depths of the soul. Both sunk in the enticing eyes of the other, trying to comprehend what went through their mind. The pristine look they both held was so alluring to the other that it was hard to look away, because neither felt aware of how intense it could come to be. So tantalizing, so luring it made them both forget the previous tension, making way for a new one. There was something that called familiarity, similarity. It was exposing, an when the second prolonged too much they both looked away hastily.

She was flustered and confused, while he felt bare and disclosed.

Because it was not a lover's stare, no. It was not filled with lust and wanting. Their pupils did not dilate like those in love were so used to. It was not the look of something all consuming from sexual interest either. What they both saw in each other was need.

Need for companionship. Because for some reason they were both lonely. And you could tell perfectly in both the sea blue eyes and the lively brown ones that there was something lacking. The desperate need for accompaniment born from the loss of someone and pain.

No more words were needed after the brief interaction, while both Lucy and Laxus thought about what they saw. In that moment they held so much familiarity with each other, so much in common that now there was nothing left to say. He wanted to ask who, as well as she, but neither dared to break the understanding silence they've settle themselves in. The air was filled with a sad aura, but both were secretly happy in it. Because without speaking the mages had bonded in mutual grief. And the lonely feeling that had overwhelmed both had somehow dissipated. Because they had found someone to mourn with.

And it was enough for both to settle in comfortably.

* * *

xxxxxxxxxxxx

They arrived at Magnolia with no time to spare. After their silent truce, both has stayed quiet, basking in the feeling of needing no words to express themselves because they now both understood how the other felt. At least, somewhat. So as soon as they arrived, Lucy stood up and started walking out of the station, knowing that Laxus followed her closely.

In the dark hour she dragged her suitcase behind her, which went along with the sound of their footsteps, a soft rumbling to the wheels as they walked down Strawberry Street. By now it was nightfall and so she tiredly walked home, Plue, whom she'd summoned a while ago, purred his nonsense after hre, yawning sleepily. Of course, Lucy was now wondering why Laxus was still trailing after her, but she didn't question him. It was only when she was nearing her apartment when he spoke.

"I expect you to be at the guild early in the morning. If not I'll come looking for you."

Lucy sighed, pushing the key inside the lock and twisting it with a click. _Right, _she told herself, _he has to make sure I get back to the guild for my punishment._

"I'll be there," she told him, turning the knob to open the door.

"Good."

That was the last thing she heard of him, because by the time she turned he was already far away, his shadow growing as he walked under the moonlight. She could tell he had his head down, hands in his coat pockets, and where it not for the nonchalant tone he'd used while talking to her a second ago, she wouldn't have guessed he was bothered by something. Lucy was curious as to what may have caused this downfall in the usually overly confident brute, but she knew it was probably a touchy subject and didn't question him. Specially if it had to do with the sad look he held on his eyes this morning.

The celestial mage didn't dwell much on the subject and looked down at Plue as the canis minor dog started climbing the stairs to her apartment. Who would have guessed that Laxus had a softer side, better say, a heart. Whomever he had lost must have been important to him on a big scale to get him this sad. At least, she didn't know him and she could easily tell he was coping with something. It made her wonder if the Raijinshou knew anything about it. Make it what it is, she would not interfere or tell anyone about it.

And she was sure Laxus wouldn't talk about what he saw either because just then they had a mutual agreement. "Let's go to bed, Plue," she told her pet, already carrying her suitcase upstairs.

"Pu-puun~" was his response.

* * *

The guild was not into early havoc at least, because as soon as she arrived she could tell not many were up on the Sunday morning she arrived. Mira greeted her with a smile, as she walked the long way down than lane of tables and chairs to the bar. The doors were wide open, leaving space for the air to come in, erasing any sign of the strong smell of ale that usually crowded the atmosphere. It was unusual to find Fairy Tail in this state, but then again, it was a very unusual day. Last month was uneventful, but now, she was sure that once others knew about her little misadventure things would get a little rough.

The blonde teen tugged at the end of her shirt subconsciously, now thinking of what her friend will tell her. Natsu will probably molest her asking why didn't she take him with her, Erza will probably scold her for not taking her along as a responsible S-Class mage to watch over her, Gray will surely question her why she went on her own, and Wendy would ask if she was alright. Of course, Lucy was only looking forward to meeting the latter, given that the young sky sorceress was more comprehensive and level headed than the rest of her team. It was a fact that the other members of her team will just ask the same questions over and over again. And without having to face them yet, Lucy was already tired.

The walk across the guild help her prepare for the upcoming day, and then Mirajane Strauss greeted her friend with her simple smile, a smile that ensnared men with a coy laugh. Her bright blue eyes showed curiosity as she addressed the girl before her, ready to ask the usual after a mission. "Ohayou, Lucy-chan!"

Lucy smiled, knowing Mira was not at fault here. She deserved a full bright smile, so the celestial mage gave her one. "Ohayou, Mira-san!"

The blue-eyed woman looked as radiant as always, something Lucy always wondered about, because how did Mira get time to look so pretty when she had so much work to do? It was one of the qualities and mysteries that accompanied the demon. "How was your mission?" she asked.

Lucy sat herself on a stool before answering. The blonde frowned, not knowing how to put it. "It was... complicated."

Mira's eyes were bright, her interest growing. "I happen to know that the Master sent Laxus-san to retrieve you." The white-haired girl cocked her head to the side innocently, but Lucy knew what game she played.

"Yes," the Heartfilia ex-heir told her, twiddling her thumbs as she put her palms together.

"Oh, dear - I knew it!" Mira exclaimed, clasping her hand in delight. Now Lucy raised her eyes to watch her, curious herself.

"You knew it was S-Class?" she was confused, and her eyes were wide.

"No, no. I wouldn't have allowed you to go if it were for that!" the older woman told her, still excited.

"Then, what did you know?" Lucy inched closer, resting her chest on her arms.

She touched the tip of Lucy's nose, shaking her head. "Are, are! Aren't you nosy."

The action took the younger girl by surprise, and she looked at the tip of her nose before her eyes drifted up, looking at the take-over mage with her brows up in a questioning manner. But Mira was drifting away, mumbling something to herself as she walked to the storage room and left the blonde girl more confused than before. _What is she talking about? _Mira never faltered on surprising her, and today was another one of those occasions where she left her dumbfounded, unsure of how to proceed. She had no idea of what she was talking about, and with the look the other woman held, she was sure she didn't want to know.

Lucy turned on her stool to look around, knowing that sooner or later the master will call her up the second floor. There were a few drunkards laying on the tables, sleeping away, while others chatted quietly in small groups. She decided to forget the Mira incident, knowing that the white haired lady always had those sort of strange actions, and instead she wondered about Laxus. Was he here? Was he going to help her sort this out with the master? She knew he had no real business with her misfortune, but evidence on his part could help palliate any punishment the master wanted to get her through. After all, any help she could get at this moment would be of excellent use.

It was impossible to know what Makarov Dreyar would declare at the end, and she was more than cruel enough with herself for thinking of the worst possible outcomes. No one had ever done two S-Class missions against the rules. They could find her restless and maybe even expel her! Ostracize maybe? Who knows. All that she was secure about was that her injuries were still pretty bad, and her arms had scratches all along, the top of her right arm still bandaged. And let's not talk about her colorful back! She was currently wearing a long brown sweater due to her condition, not wanting to show to the master how bad were her injuries. He'd probably use those against her. So for now, Lucy preferred to wait out and see if Wendy could heal her.

And speaking of Wendy, Lucy wondered how she was doing. After all she had a soft spot the the blue-haired girl, and she knew how hard it must have been for Wendy losing her whole family. Maybe it was because she was raised with a harsh father and motherless, but Lucy had a strong pull to protect her, knowing how awful it must be for her to grow without a family. She herself felt a void that had only been filled partly when she joined Fairy Tail. They loved her and acknowledged her as a person, more loved than she'd even felt before back at home. Memories of her mother were vague, so she hardly remembered what was it to bask in her mother's care. And her father just made her unhappy, ignoring her and raising her on the sidelines, just spoiling her to see if the girl would at some point leave him alone. Now Wendy had lost her family too, and Lucy was extremely glad that she had joined Fairy Tail. After that she did everything possible to make her feel welcomed. And so a motherly feeling invaded her senses when the youngest dragon slayer in the guild went alone in missions. She couldn't help but wonder if she was alright, and if there was anything she could do to help her. For example, at the moment Lucy was taking count of how many days had passed since Wendy had left for her mission. Today was the fourth day, meaning that she would be either returning today or tomorrow. Oh, how she missed the sincerely sweet girl. Specially now that her injuries made it so painful to get dressed._  
_

"Lucy." She recognized that tone immediately as soon as she heard it, and a shiver went down her spine in fright. Slowly, the blonde turned her head to meet the eyes of the scarlet knight, whom angrily glared at her with disapproval. "Come with me."

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**Had to leave it there, because then I would have no material for the next chapter. What do you think? I know it's been a long time since I updated, but I started school, plus I'm packing because I'm moving to another _country _soon. I may not have much time until November, or December, when things are settled, but for now I'll try my best to sneak in a chapter or two as frequently as possible. Yes, that means I already have the next issue planned, but I still have to write it down, so you'll have to wait and see. What do you think of Lucy and Laxus's moment on the train? We know Lucy lost her father, but who do you think Laxus lost?**

**On an extra note, this is all set after the GMG arc, but before the new one at the moment. Just to make it clear. Also, this is a LaLu, but do you want someone else to interfere between our main characters? Someone who may already have a crush on Lucy? [ Natsu/Gray ? ] It's up to you, so please let me know if you review. It would help me a lot when making the plot much more interesting.**

**Love you all, and please tell me what you think,**

**xx Camille xx**

**PS;; This chapter was posted again for corrections. Sorry for any inconveniences. I didn't have much time to work on it properly, so I posted right away. Anyways, here you have it corrected. I have made no modifications whatsoever.**


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